California Wildfires: Crews Attempt To Protect Historic Trees

CALIFORNIA -- As hundreds of thousands of acres burn across California, firefighters were working Saturday to not only protect homes and businesses, but historic trees. More than a dozen fires burned roughly 671,000 acres and destroyed 1,100 homes, according to Cal Fire.

The Donnell Fire, which burned 23,000 acres at Stanislaus National Forest, threatened historic trees, officials said. That blaze was just 5 percent contained after destroying 55 structures.

At the Sierra National Forest, crews were making headway against the 95,000-acre Ferguson Fire. As of Saturday morning, the blaze, which forced closures at Yosemite National Park, was 82 percent contained.

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The massive Carr Fire in Shasta County continued to burn after scorching 186,000 acres and destroying more than 1,500 buildings and damaging hundreds of others. As of Saturday morning, the blaze was 55 percent contained but another 500 structures remained threatened.

The state's largest wildfire, the Mendocino Complex Fire, burned more than 300,000 acres. As of Saturday morning, the Ranch Fire was 58 percent contained while the River Fire was 92 percent contained. The blaze, which burned across three different counties, destroyed more than 200 structures and threatened more than 9,000. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news from your California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!)

In Southern California, crews gained containment on the Holy Fire burning in Orange and Riverside counties. The blaze stood at more than 21,000 acres but was 29 percent contained Saturday morning.

Photo: Trees burn in the Carr Fire on July 30, 2018 west of Redding, California. (Photo by Terray Sylvester/Getty Images)